The Five Days
by gomababe
Summary: What would a Nation give up for charity? Rated for Scotland's language


England sighed as he brought the cup of tea to his lips. He had just finished organising the venue for the world conference that was due to be held in London for the next five days and was looking forward to sitting back and relaxing. He had just taken a small sip when a voice reverberated throughout the house,

"Gimme back ma fuckin' fags!" England sighed as he put the cup and saucer on the desk again. Of course, America had mentioned coming over for a visit. And how did England know it was America?

"Quit sounding like such a homophobe!" the self-proclaimed hero shouted back, "And besides you should have quit ages ago!" One of England's eyebrows twitched a little, telling Scotland to stop smoking was like asking the tides to stop coming and going. It tended to end about as well too. There was a thump, a yelp and some garbled shouting. England took a deep breath to calm himself down before poling his head out of the door to his study,

"Will the two of you pipe down for just ten minutes?" he demanded, "some of us have work to do." America looked up from his position on the floor, pouting up at his father figure,

"But England," he whined, "your brother is being abusive to me." England rolled his eyes dismissively,

"Yes, well that ought to teach you not to steal Scotland's cigarettes then wouldn't it?" England gestured to America, "Hand them here." He told the taller country. America complied and fished the packet out of his pocket. Scotland narrowed his eyes at his brother,

"And what are ye gonnae do wi' them exactly?" he growled. England snorted,

"I'm going to put these in my study for now." He replied, "You've got another ten packets lying around your own house so you can go and get those rather than making mines smell like death." Scotland made to march over to his younger brother, raising his hand as he did, only to be brought crashing down to the ground when America grabbed a hold of his leg,

"Oh no you don't," the younger nation panted, "I think you've done quite enough damage for one day." Scotland glared at him as England snorted,

"Honestly Scotland, you can't go for an hour without one?" he asked, which caught the Scottish man's attention,

"I could if I wanted to." He growled, "It would help if this little brat didnae piss me off every fuckin' time he came round." England raised an eyebrow at that,

"Oh really?" he asked in an almost sing song tone, "Then I propose a bet." He said, a smirk lighting up his face as he played with the cigarette packet. Scotland stopped struggling against America's hold, his interest piqued,

"Oh aye?" he asked, "Whit kind of bet?" England's smirk turned more sinister,

"If you can go for the next five days without having any cigarettes at all then you can come and bug me whenever you please and I'll make sure Alfred doesn't 'piss you off' when he comes over." Scotland thought this over for a moment,

"And if I cannae?" he asked. England frowned as he thought for a moment then his face lit up,

"If you can't then you need to donate double what you spend in a week on cigarettes to Children in Need on Friday night _and_ you have to quit completely... cold turkey." He suggested. Scotland thought carefully about the terms of the bet,

"All right then, but so the bairns dinnae go withoot the money... if I win this then you need to donate the same oot yer own pocket." He suggested. England nodded,

"Seems fair enough to me." He replied, tossing the cigarette packet back to Scotland, "Now if the two of you will please get out of here so I can work in peace!" he snapped. American let Scotland up so that the older country could leave, which he gladly did so he could have a well deserved smoke break. America looked over to England cautiously,

"Umm... was that such a wise idea?" he asked uncertainly, "He's going to be ten times worse to you without any cigarettes." England smiled at his 'son' pleasantly,

"Oh he'll be fine during the next five days." England assured him, "Scotland will do anything to prove me wrong and to save himself money, even if said money is going towards a very good cause." He pointed out, "I honestly don't mind either way, I can more than easily change the locks if he loses and if he wins the money goes to charity." America nodded, still looking very uncertain,

"If you say so..." he mumbled, already dreading the week ahead.

**Day 1**

Even though the first day of the meeting had gone so very badly {Israel and Palestine were somehow seated next to each other and would not stop bickering}, England smiled pleasantly at everyone as they left, which left most of them feeling very unnerved. France stayed behind and raised an eyebrow at the younger nation,

"Today was a complete fiasco and yet you are smiling Angleterre?" he asked, "Why do I get the feeling that you 'ave gotten the upper 'and over someone?" England chuckled,

"I can't just be in a good mood, frog?" he replied, "If you were planning on going out drinking with Scotland, I'd avoid it if I were you." France looked at him quizzically,

"May I ask why, exactly?" he asked. England waved a hand dismissively,

"Oh we've placed a little bet as to whether he can go for the next five days without smoking." He said casually. At seeing France's expression, "It is for a very good cause though. Children in Need is on Friday and either way they're getting a rather hefty donation." France nodded slowly but looked a little nervous all the same,

"Well, I shall take your advice and steer very clear of your brother for the rest of the week." He said. "Good luck surviving that long. He added as he hurried out of the door before England could say anything else.

Meanwhile

"Shut the bloody fuck up will ye! I'm tryin' to concentrate!" Sealand stopped running around with his toy plane for a moment to glare at his 'brother',

"Papa Sweden will be mad at you if he finds out you've been swearing in front of me." He stated childishly. Scotland rubbed his head with his hand,

"I dinnae really care right about now ye little brat!" he snapped, "Go bother Wales or something." He muttered, trying to get back to his paperwork. Sealand grinned deviously,

"Jerk England told _you_ to look after me." He said in a sing song voice, "He's not going to be happy if he finds out you palmed me off on Wales." Scotland growled, he was desperate for a fag already, but he wasn't even a day in yet. This whole bet was looking a lot more difficult than he had anticipated. He sighed as Sealand went right back to making various battle noises when he got no reply off the old nation, trying his best to ignore the cravings.

**Day 2**

Scotland had been invited to the conference today, which for him had been a very nice distraction. After having to put up with Sealand for the whole day before, it seemed England had taken pity on him and let him sit next to France. Israel and Palestine were no longer sitting next to each other and it seemed like the day was going to go rather more smoothly. America, however, had other ideas,

"Dude if we just work together on this idea then we can stop Global Warming and people won't drown." He said, looking disappointed that even less were behind his ideas than normal. Germany sighed and decided to take charge again,

"How do you propose we even begin to finance this... idea of yours?" he asked, "Most of us can barely afford the research going into renewable energy without spending ridiculous amounts of money on... that." America pouted, but sat down anyway, glaring at Germany as he did so. Japan patted the north American nation on the shoulder,

"I thought it was a good idea, but Germany is right." He said in a low voice. Scotland, who had barely been paying attention, was fidgeting, sitting still for so long without having anything to do with his hands was making him antsy. France laid a hand on his,

"L'Ecosse, I think you are distracting people." He said quietly. Scotland blinked and looked up, only to see India glaring at him. He flushed a little,

"Sorry," he muttered, "I'll just... pop out to the loo." He finished lamely, getting up and all but running out of the room. England watched him go, a dark smile lighting up his face, this bet was as good as won.

Scotland sighed as he sat outside the conference room, he hadn't meant to be such a distraction, but how the hell was he supposed to keep his mind occupied,

"Fuck it all to hell." He muttered to himself, putting his head in his hands. France quietly closed the door as he came out to see how his best friend was doing,

"Are you alright Ecosse?" he asked quietly, sitting down next to the Scottish man. Scotland sighed heavily, letting his hands drop,

"I dunno Francis," he admitted, "I'm starting tae wonder if I should stuff the bet althegether." France patted him on the shoulder awkwardly,

"Well that is up to you _mon ami_, but I'm not too sure I want to see Angleterre looking smug over your discomfort." Scotland snorted,

"Whit dae you suggest?" he asked. France gave him a devious grin,

"Oh I think you know." He trilled, pulling Scotland up and dragging him out of the building to the nearest pub.

**Day 3**

To say England had been displeased about France and Scotland skipping out on the rest of the second day was putting it incredibly mildly. When the rest of the countries that enjoyed having a drink after a meeting turned up at the pub only to find France and Scotland already there and totally pissed to boot, some rather choice words had been exchanged.

Scotland groaned as England tried to push him off the bed,

"Five more minutes." He muttered, trying to bury his head back into his pillow. England snorted, glaring at the immovable lump,

"Get up you stupid git!" he snapped, "You are going to the conference today and you are goin to sit through the whole bloody thing!" when Scotland only groaned again and turned over England sighed. He looked over to the faeries that were flitting around the room and smirked deviously. He whispered something to the closest ones and quietly stepped out of the room,

"... four, three, two, one." He muttered and grinned widely as Scotland yelped in alarm as the fae woke him up using a piece of holly they'd found and a bit of creative magic. England tried to hold back his snickers as he heard Scotland yelling at them from the other side of the door,

"Go oan and bother somebody who doesnae hae a crackin' hangover!" he yelled. England wiped the grin off his face and knocked smartly on the door,

"Good morning Scotland!" he greeted cheerily, "A beautiful day isn't it?" Scotland scowled at his brother,

"Go awa' an bile yer heid ye stupid sassanach." He growled, "I am no' in the fuckin' mood to deal wi' you bein' a' cheery." England just raised an eyebrow and smiled,

"Well you'd be the one to go and spend the whole day drinking yourself sober." He noted, pulling the curtains with a smart tug, letting the unseasonal sunshine pour into the room. Scotland hissed, holding his head in his hands,

"Ye're evil I hope ye realise that." He muttered as he stumbled to the bathroom to find some paracetomol. England just continued smiling happily as he walked out of the room,

"And yet the day has only just begun." He chuckled darkly, feeling really rather pleased with himself. If France was in a similar state then he was going to have the time of his life later on.

**Day 4**

Scotland took a deep breath as he fidgeted with his notes yet again. Why had Germany insisted that the Scot make himself useful by adding to the conference? He was no good at public speaking, everyone always complained about his accent every time he tried and now, since he couldn't have any cigarettes beforehand, he was well and truly nervous. France gave the red haired man an encouraging smile,

"You will be fine, and the worst anyone can do is ignore what you have to say oui?" Scotland returned the smile, albeit a lot more nervously,

"Aye, I guess, but my accent gets so much worse when I'm nervous, you know that." He sighed, "To ninety percent o' them I might as well be speaking Gaelic." France's face brightened a little,

"Then why not speak it?" he suggested with a smirk, "It will give them all something to think about rather than bickering with each other." Scotland thought about it for a moment,

"Ye ken something," he said as he realised something, "ye're right. It'll gie England some payback fer the grief he gave us yesterday." He added, a devlish smirk lighting up his face. France laughed as he clapped a hand on the shorter man's shoulder,

"Glad I could 'elp." He chuckled. Scotland seemed to think for a moment,

"Ye ken sommat else? The BBC would probably appreciate us haein' a couple of Pudsey buckets in here an' a'" he said, "I'll switch back tae English only if we raise a certain amount and folk actually pay ony attention." France scratched at his chin,

"And where will we find these 'Pudsey buckets' as you call them?" he asked. Scotland grinned,

"There's a Boots jus' doon the road that'll probably hae a couple spare." He said brightly, "Cover fer me will ye?" France grinned as Scotland ducked out of the meeting room as the other countries started to filter in. France sighed as he looked over to England. The things he did in the name of friendship.

**Day 5**

Scotland grinned as he counted out the money his little scheme the day before had raised. £600 would make a huge difference to so many children and young people around the country. Sure many countries had been fairly incredulous about the whole exercise, but at least it had saved him all sorts of grief from his younger brother when he had suddenly started his speech in Gaelic. He started singing softly along to the radio when the official Children in Need single came on. As much of a tough guy reputation he had, Scotland was a fairly big sap when it came to children and he honestly wasn't afraid to show it. England came into the conference room just as the song was ending and waited patiently by the door until it was actually over before clearing his throat. Scotland looked up from putting the money back in the buckets, a confused look on his face as England tossed him a packet of cigarettes,

"Whit are these fer?" he asked. England raised an eyebrow at that,

"Because you won our little bet." He replied, sounding fairly surprised. Scotland blinked, was that the last day already? He looked at the cigarette packet for a moment before picking it up and pocketing it,

"Well thanks I suppose." He muttered as he put the lid back on the second bucket just as England added several notes to it. He looked up at his brother, who chuckled,

"An extra hundred to make it a round £700 as part of the bet." He said. Scotland grinned,

"Pudsey'll appreciate that." He said, digging around in his pocket for something. England frowned as his oldest brother produced his wallet and added another couple of notes to the bucket as well,

"Another two hunner quid." He explained, "Double the amount I spent on fags every week." England raised one of his overly large eyebrows,

"Spent?" he enquired. Scotland shrugged,

"Well since I managed five days withoot a fag break I figured I could manage a wee bit mair." He said with a cheeky wink, "If only because it's mair fun to wind ye yup." England huffed, but smiled anyway,

"We might as well get these buckets down to the post office I suppose." He sighed, picking one of them up, "Don't want to get them in too late before the show starts tonight." Scotland picked the other one up, looking thoughtful,

"Think we can squeeze a few more quid oot of everyone before the end of the day?" he asked. England looked up surprised but soon mirrored his brother's smirk,

"What did you have in mind?"


End file.
